2.3 Phenomenology: Separated City Spatial Planning
2.3.2 Spatial Segregation in Buildings
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There is a need in our modern democratic society to not only learn to ‘dwell’ in an environment that is seen as Black and White trying to tolerate each other, but to create multi-cultural harmony between all races. There should be a Phenomenological perception to this shared spaced, where people dream of socio-economic equality. As cited in Turnbridge (1978) both Kong (1993) and Yeoh (1996) wrote of post colonial Singapore attempting to create a unique multicultural society. The main source that allows multi-cultural societies to live in tolerance is through redistribution of education and job opportunities that, in turn, generate wealth.
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Partitioning through architectural design induced total separation between races which was paramount in the degradation of Blacks, where Black people had to enter a building through a separate entrance.
Black people were never afforded any form of rights in public buildings or spaces and had to accept their racial inferiority.
“Man ‘dwells’ when he can orientate himself with and identify himself with an environment” (Norberg Schulz, 1980, p.5)
This architectural partitioning was depicted in the train station in Lenoir, North Carolina, USA (Fig 1) where state law required there be two separate passenger waiting rooms for White and Coloureds, which led through separate entrances onto the station platform (Weyeneth, 2005). The Phenomenological perception that Black people had of the space would remain in their memories forever. However, ‘dwelling’ was only for a short period after which one experienced a different type of feeling being that of transition which speaks to the theory of ‘movement’ which is a strong reinforcer of
‘public transportation’.
Figure 1: Weyeneth, 2005, Plan of Railway Station at Lenoir, North Carolina (1912)
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Although segregation was prominent in the architectural arrangement of train stations of colonialist and segregationalist countries, one could also associate train stations to a metaphorical sense in that by default their railway tracks divorced the trains from the disorder of road transport and commuting, which could be viewed in a positive light. It can be further said that this segregation is symbolized by the Doric portico at Euston “A gateway through which you entered the railway system on your way out of London after the journey from Birmingham” (Curtis, 1961)
Currently in South Africa, the increased urban population is causing road traffic congestion which is commonly due to our infrastructure not being able to keep up with the growing commuter demand.
This country does not have a competitive and dependable rail industry as opposed to Europe, Japan and most recently, China where there is continuous competition amongst railway companies rendering it a successful support system to public commuting.
Pietermaritzburg is a prime example of road infrastructure not being able to support urban growth whilst the failure of a dependable rail system amongst other things has forced a thriving but unsafe mini-bus taxi industry. This industry is only able to thrive with the influx of mainly non-white commuters travelling into the city. As cited in Tunbridge (1978), “The African presence in the inner city has grown enormously. Much of the housing in the inner city grid is now in African occupancy” (Wills et al., 1987).
Minibus taxi’s better known as ‘kombi’ in South African culture have dug their roots in our exclusively lower income, non-white society and established their own ‘sense of place’ aligning it to the theory of Phenomenology. Their presence however comes with many challenges; one being that this industry has conquered inner city space with particular reference to Pietermaritzburg, where its location in the city centre is an ‘eye-sore’. This occupation of prime public space, which would be better suited as a more pedestrianized precinct, brings with it crime; rubbish infested streets; and mutilation of public facilities.
“The relationship between ‘dwelling’ and ‘journey’ is dialectical and identifies the need for both stability and change in peoples dealings with places and environments” (Seamon, 1985, p.227).
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The mini-bus taxi industries location within the city centre is a major contributor towards the alienation, from this area, by middle to upper class Blacks as well as Coloureds, Indians, and Whites in general.
Tunbridge and Ashworth (1996) state that other population groups, especially Whites, are supporting the outlying shopping centres rather than those within the CBD.
At the risk of being accused of repetition, Norberg-Schulz’s concept of ‘being at peace in a protected place’ (as cited in Nesbitt 1996, p.29) holds weight in that the city centre has to be given back to all the citizens of the entire city and in order to achieve this, mini-bus taxis must be relocated to the periphery.
This will reinforce the concept of ‘movement’ strongly associated with public transportation. This relocation will ease the influx of the criminal element into this central environment, as criminals will now be forced to apply their activities in a newly proposed taxi rank relocated at the old railway station precinct. This area will remain under stricter police control therefore contributing to a much safer community, primarily inhabited by pedestrians within a precinct that is rich in conservation heritage indicative of Pietermaritzburg.
This relocation of the mini-bus taxi rank would be best suited within or around the confines of the old train station precinct situated in the upper part of the city centre. When going back to colonial racial spatial planning and the city grid, this approach could be seen as a psychological advantage in that there is now a reversal of the colonial rationale of the upper most parts of the city being exclusively for the Whites and their stance on domination and reign over the lower mortals (Winters, 1982, as cited in Njoh, 2008, p596). This relocation of the existing mini-bus taxi rank will enforce the Phenomenological approach of ‘place making’ within a new environment.
“European colonial authorities used topography to symbolize the unequal distribution of power and wealth and to separate the ruler from the ruled”. This move begins to set the tone of ‘all being equal in the eyes of the Beholder’, whereby all races, Whites included, should be welcome to ‘dwell’ in any part of the city. It is within this environment that racial, socio-economic and cultural differences can be celebrated. “The generation of men and woman who leave one place to find another, pass through a set of experiences that later generations born in that place can never know” (Seamon, 1985, p.239) This creates a form of ‘concretization of existential space’ whereby all are allowed to exist within a common space as theorized by Norberg-Schulz (1980).
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Although the predominantly colonial administrative buildings dominate this modern city enclave, some encouragement can be drawn from an inference of the statue of Gandhi (Photo 3) erected in 1993 as a symbol of his non-violent resistance to racism.
“He is depicted walking away from the distant train station, and looking away from the immediately adjacent colonial building in which racist policy has been formulated and justice dispensed” (Haswell, 1990 as cited in Tunbridge, 1999).
Photo 3: Tunbridge, 1993, Statue of Gandhi in Pietermaritzburg
Gandhi’s statue reaffirms this concept of ‘movement’ in that he is depicted on the move, although ironically in this case he is walking away from the connotations of apartheid, being that of the old train station. Movement within the city can be associated with Pallasmaa’s, concept of ‘movement between spaces’. The space being the various parts of the city in particular that of the heritage part of the city centre, the experiences endured along the way in terms of ‘memory of past atrocities’ and the arrival at the new Pietermaritzburg station which is representative of the ‘new iconic image of the city’. There should be no restriction of movement within the confines of this beautiful city.
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Njoh (2008) stated that Colonial authorities imposed laws of ‘restriction of movement’ in order to prevent crime by African people. We are today all considered Africans; people of Africa, Whites included, and should be able to exercise our rights of movement within all sectors of our city, notwithstanding the fact that crime is a real issue, but this can be controlled and reduced by visible and active policing which will reinforce the Phenomenological theory of ‘being at peace in a protected place’.
“A person moves away from their stable home base outward along a path toward confrontation with place, experience or ideas” (Seamon, 1985, p.228)
Njoh’s (2008) use of the ‘concept of space’ differs from that of other theorists in that whilst the others associate space with the make-up of physical buildings and walls, he views buildings as only being one aspect of that space whilst people within the space make up the other. This again ties with Palasmaa’s concept of ‘moving through space’ where the ‘Being’ has a presence within his
‘environment’ and his presence is never static. The train station precinct is that ‘environment’ or
‘dwelling’ and the commuters are the ‘Beings’ residing within that space.
The precinct in this case deals with the space surrounding the train station site, with the commuters constantly moving throughout this space. ‘Dwelling’ does not necessarily have to be within the confines of a building but within the spatial confines of the precinct as well, giving rise to the importance of circulation from exterior to interior and vice-versa.
“space could be delimited with other physical markers such as streets, railway tracks, vegetation, and topography” (Njoh, 2008, p596).
The spatial circulation inside the new train station building will play a pivotal role in terms of reinforcing the concept of the ‘flow of unrestricted movement’. “Movement is associated with newness, unfamiliarity, exploration and courage – it extends awareness of distance, place and experience”
(Seamon, 1985, p.227). Care must be exercised not to fall foul of subconsciously repeating colonial philosophies in the form of restriction or segregation which could easily be the case with gender inequality or a person’s physical ability, making strong reference to disabled people.
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It is imperative that any individual entering the confines of the new train station building experiences a level of belonging which will contribute to the commuters level of comfortability and ultimately result in a feeling of ‘being safe’ reinforcing once again the concept of ‘being at peace in a protected place’.
Building on this level of ‘comfortability’ is the ability for humans to acknowledge their ‘existence’ as
‘Beings’ within an ‘environment’ that has some impact on their daily lives, which will develop into a
‘relationship’ between ‘man’ and ‘building’. Seamon (1985) compares an individual person or group of people’s existence within a space to that of a pendulum swinging; between the need for centre; at 'homeness' and 'continuity' on the one hand; and the need for change, variety and reach on the other (Seamon, 1985).
This ‘relationship’ between ‘man’ and ‘building’ as proposed by Heidegger in his theoretical approach to Phenomenology, does not happen in a vacuum but within a space occupied by others which leads to the introduction of another important issue being that of ‘space sharing’ and the harmonious relationship with your fellow ‘Beings’. Photo 4, taken during the Olympic Games at the Munich Stadium in Munich, depicts people of various races and cultural beliefs congregating within a common space in unity with one another because of their love for sport.
Photo 4, Behnisch, Olympic Stadium: Munich: Germany, Gunter Behnisch (1972), Frampton 2007
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With reference to perception as proposed by Phenomenology, it is expected that once a person enters the spatial realm of the new train station building at Pietermaritzburg, one should forget all the bad memories experienced outside its confines, in particular that of past atrocities brought about by the visual link of the old train station building. The commuter must be overwhelmed by sentiments of a new era in society, demonstrating that this is a community of ‘forward thinkers’ and not ‘past dwellers’.
One can infer, as proposed by Heidegger, that a relationship between ‘man’ and ‘building’ can develop if there remains a constant interest between the ‘Being’ and his immediate ‘dwelling’. This ‘relationship’
does not have to be one of a physical nature, although the concept of ‘touch’ is used in this argument to demonstrate one of many forms of sensory perception, but within the psychic realm of being conscious and respectful of his environment.
“Architecture exists in another reality from our everyday life and pursuits, the emotional force seduces our imagination to wander away from the world of everyday realities” (Pallasmaa as cited in Nesbitt, 1996).
Heidegger’s approach to Phenomenology suggested that architects must become aware of the experience a human being endures within a space or the built environment as a whole. The key to creating a ‘sense of place’ is ‘letting things be’ which includes the way we see, think, understand and build. (Heidegger as cited by David Seamon 1998)
The train station should be a ‘home away from home’ allowing the commuter or user to experience a sense of security, familiarity and belonging, almost like being a part of a family or community, whilst simultaneously experiencing a new level of imagination and the need to explore further. This feeling should be in contrast to the feeling of segregation experienced in public buildings of the apartheid era.
As a reinforcer to this statement, one should combine Schulz’s interpretation of Phenomenology and that of ‘dwelling’ or “being at peace in a protected place” with that of Pallasmaa’s theory that “The artistic dimension of a work of art does not lie in the actual physical thing; it exists only in the consciousness of the person experiencing it” (as cited in Nesbitt 1996,p.30).
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